Ready For World Cup Fever? Telemundo Aims High With Partnerships, Soccer Stars And Live Streaming

It's the moment of truth for Telemundo, with the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia kicking off exactly one week from today. Will its coverage meet or exceed all expectations? The network, which in 2011 secured the U.S. Spanish-language World Cup broadcast rights for the first time in its history, spent $600 million for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments and is heavily invested in making it an unforgettable, immersive event for viewers in broadcast and digital platforms, offering wall-to-wall coverage, virtual reality experiences and special content.

It has also lined up numerous partnerships to raise its visibility and score its own goal: attract more viewers, regardless of language.

Today, Telemundo announced its latest partnership with Google. For the first time ever, World Cup fans will be able to find matches and scores in Spanish in the U.S. and see close to real-time video highlights from Telemundo Deportes, including in-game clips featuring goals, halftime highlights, match previews, winning probabilities, line-ups and news within Google Search.

This World Cup initiative expands on Telemundo’s strategic presence and partnership with YouTube, which includes more than five official channels with more than 14 million subscribers. The network will upload more than 1,000 hours of exclusive content across digital platforms, including content from YouTube Creators and fan reactions from across the world on the official Telemundo YouTube channel.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia games on Telemundo will also be offered on YouTube TV, allowing subscribers to record and watch games via the YouTube TV Cloud DVR feature.

“Soccer is more exciting in Spanish, and we’re thrilled to be amplifying the access and engagement of the World Cup through Google and YouTube technology,” said Peter E. Blacker, Telemundo's EVP, Digital and Emerging Business.

Last week, Telemundo also partnered with Spanish soccer star David Villa and his newly-launched production company, Designated Player, to produce soccer content around the World Cup to air across all Telemundo network and digital platforms.

As part of the deal, Villa, who played for the Spanish national team in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and is currently captain of MLS team New York City FC, will narrate a video series titled "Como Llegaron" (How Did They Get Here), detailing the ups and downs that 10 national teams (the eight Latin American countries participating in the tournament, as well as Spain and Portugal) endured in order to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Telemundo sends small army of staffers to Russia

Telemundo and Universo networks will broadcast all 64 World Cup games live from Russia - about 500 hours - starting with the first match between Russia and Saudi Arabia on opening day, Thursday, June 14, at 11 a.m. Over 1,000 hours of additional content will be featured on digital platforms. All matches will be live streamed on TelemundoDeportes.com as well as via the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo and NBC Sports apps.

According to the network, it is sending a staff of 500 to Russia with hundreds more working the World Cup in Miami, adding several million more to the price tag of producing and broadcasting the month-long soccer tournament. Staffers started arriving May 1 in preparation for the event with the sportscasting team landing in Russia this week.

The on-air team will include Telemundo Deportes’ award-winning television presenters and former soccer star players and coaches to serve as experts and join the announce teams for relevant matches.

Five-time Emmy award winner Andrés Cantor will lead Telemundo Deportes’ coverage. Former Mexican National Team and Chivas player Manuel Sol will join Cantor (play-by-play) for at least 14 games during the group stage. Soccer commentator and two-time Emmy award nominee Sammy Sadovnik will serve as play-by-play commentator alongside sports analyst Eduardo Biscayart on 12 games throughout the group stage. Copán Álvarez will provide play-by-play alongside Viviana Vila, the first female analyzing a men’s World Cup. Erasmo Provenza will serve as play-by-play commentator alongside 1986 World Cup champion Claudio Borghi, who played for Argentina's national team with Maradona.

The four announce teams and the entire commentary team of experts will be based in Russia throughout the duration of the tournament, June 14 - July 15, with commentators calling the action live from stadiums for the majority of games.

That's a stark contrast to Fox, which is broadcasting the games for English-speaking audiences, but will be doing play-by-play commentary for the majority from its West L.A. studios - not stadiums in Russia.

Soccer stars recruited as experts for game coverage analysis

Experts include:

Carlos Hermosillo - former soccer star and one of the all-time scorers for the Mexican national team. He currently co-hosts Telemundo's weekend show “Titulares y Más” with Miguel Gurwitz.

Diego Forlán - Uruguayan professional soccer player who currently plays for Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee. Considered one of Uruguay's greatest players, he participated in three FIFA World Cups, including the 2010 tournament where he received the Golden Ball as the best player.

Juan Pablo Ángel - retired Colombian soccer star, best known for playing with clubs around the world, including Premier League’s Aston Villa, Atletico Nacional and River Plate. He who represented the Colombian National Team during the qualifiers for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Juan Pablo Sorín - retired Argentinean former soccer player and sports broadcaster. Represented the Argentina national team at two FIFA World Cups.

Teófilo ”Nene” Cubillas - former soccer star, considered one of Peru’s greatest players. Represented Peru in three FIFA World Cups, including the 1970 and 1978 tournaments. As the last Peruvian star featured in a World Cup 36 years ago, he'll provide commentary during the Peru matches.

Rolando Fonseca - Costa Rica’s national team’s all-time top goal scorer, widely known among Mexican soccer fans for playing for Liga MX’s Pachuca.

Jesús “Chucho” Ramirez - former Mexican soccer player, who served as manager of the Mexico National Team and won the U-17 World Cup in 2005.

Tab Ramos - former American soccer player, who played as a midfielder in Spain, Mexico, and the United States and participated in three FIFA World Cups with the US men's national team. He currently serves as head coach of the United States U-20 team and US Soccer Federation’s Youth Technical Director.

Horacio Elizondo - former international football referee from Argentina, best known for his officiation throughout the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Here's the schedule of all the games that will air on Telemundo and Universo: